Sunday, December 1, 2013

Holy tree and a cure for warts

It's been an amazingly mild Autumn this year. I tried to visit a tree in County Laois, Ireland during the summer of 2012, only to find that due to the volume of rain, it was a walk in waders as opposed to wellies to visit the site that the locals had often mentioned to me. However the Autumn of 2013 proved successful to see this holy tree with attested abilities to relieve the presence of warts.

You won't find this tree marked on Ordnance Survey maps, though I suspect that there would be a reference to it in the National Schools Folklore Collection carried out in the 1930's (only a hunch... perhaps one day I'll get to follow up that line of enquiry)

The tree is an ash tree located at a modern gated entrance to an agricultural field in Ballygillaheen townland. The townland name, although uncertain, is probably a reference to the baile (i.e. settlement/ hamlet) of Giolla Chaoin (Gillachaein's town). Mac Giolla Chaoine translates as the Servant of St. Caoine and is relating to the modern surname of Coyne or Kilcoyne.

I know little about a St. Caoine... I'd be glad to hear any information from anyone who reads this entry.



The ash tree has two main branches rising from the main trunk. The trunk itself is rotten and badly damaged at the base. At the junction of the two main branches is a small area that retains water. It is said locally that if you immerse you hands in the water you will be cured of warts on your hands. I have also heard through local knowledge that the water has been given to sick animals (but with unknown results).

There is a small religious picture of Mary pinned to the tree trunk and a plethora of coins lodged into the bark of the tree. The coins are firmly fixed in the bark, as it a car key from a Nissan, which has been bent sideways. I've often visited 'rag trees' in Ireland associated with holy wells, and regularly visited holy wells where people have places coins either in the water of the holy well or in a case on the Inisheer, Aran Islands, placed the coins in a bullaun stone beside the well, but I've rarely come across coins lodged into the bark of tree which has curative associations to water lodged within the tree.



If anyone reading this can shed some light on a St. Caoine or indeed others trees with curing/ holy trees associated with coins lodged in the bark, I'd love to hear from you. And if you are ever wandering through County Laois let me know and I can give directions to this beautiful spot. But remember your wellies !






Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Charitable acts, but at what price ?

I'm often fascinated about what video clips people upload onto UTube. I've often watched some very funny clips and sat bemused by the ones that make it to the national airwaves in Ireland, usually as a result of some crazy stunt that somehow people pulled off.

As someone roving through the countryside, I naturally use the roads frequently. The message about road safety is being drilled into road users and thankfully most of us are aware of the hazards of speeding and foolish manoeuvres.

Not so for three truck drivers in County Kerry who are currently explaining their case to a local judge. The three truck drivers, decided to drive alongside each other on a main road... why... as part of charitable act !!. The incident was filmed and uploaded onto UTube.

The men, who appear to stress the charitable nature of the act (as I can hardly class it as a manoeuvre - as this implies a skillful or careful action) have offered to pay €3000 each to the court poor box. Why they didn't just donate €3000 to the charity in the first place and not do such a stupid stunt as this is beyond me.

I have the highest regard for truck drivers, I have always felt they are some of the most polite and safe drivers and I still can't believe that such a skilled driver would even think of doing such a dangerous act  on a public road. The judge is threatening 14 days in prison, the solicitor is offering €9000 and two nights detention in a garda station. For me, I would have thought it would be an endorsed drivers licence.

The irony of this all is that the charity that they were trying to raise money for is Pieta House - a charity to help people with suicide ideation or participate in self harm !

So if any of you are roving through the countryside, lets hope none of you encounter such charitable acts on the road, but for those of you who have never been to Ireland, please trust me that this is not an everyday occurrence. 

Friday, September 27, 2013

Thank you for Reaching Out


The Irish initiative to attract Irish people back to their cultural heartland, known as ‘The Gathering 2013’ is in full swing with events run, running or having preparations put in place. Has the Gathering been a success to date? The number crunchers will point to the increased number of overseas visitors, but I’ll point to a recent gathering that took place in the midlands town of Mountmellick, Co. Laois at the foothills of the beautiful Slieve Bloom Mountains. A gathering that epitomised so much of what a gathering could achieve.

'Ireland has a rich and varied heritage'
The phrase 'Ireland has a rick and varied heritage' slips easily off the tongue of most people in Ireland. It is true, as exemplified in the regions of the Slieve Bloom Mountains. You cannot walk along the small street of Rosenallis village without wondering at the times and the people that lived in this village. The village is a gem waiting to be found in a cultural travel chest that is rural Ireland.

I was doing some research about Rosenallis, Co. Laois in the mid 2012 when I noticed that William Edmundson, the founder of the Society of Friends (Quakers) was buried in the beautiful sleeping ground in Tineel townland. Rosenallis, within close proximity of his home place. He died in September 1712, 300 years earlier that the time of my research. William was an extraordinary man living in complex times in Ireland's history and he was a personal friend of William Penn, the founder the State of Pennyslvania. In my attempt to get clarification of the calendar system used on the headstones in the seventeenth century, I contacted, through Ancestry.com website one Mr. James Edmundson, a direct descendant of William. My query was answered and I reciprocated the favour by sending photographs of the plaque and graveyard to James.

I admire the concept of the Gathering and the many creative and inclusive opportunities for celebration on the island of Ireland in 2013. In the context of people from outside Ireland researching their family history, I felt at the outset in 2012 there was something of a missed opportunity for the national attentive ear to compile the visitor's knowledge. As the events commenced I saw this issue addressed, a point in hand being the Mountmellick Gathering 2013.

Mountmellick Development Association
Independent of my contact, James Edmundson was reaching out to Mountmellick Development Association and offered to donate his family's first edition copy of William Edmundson's journal (dated to 1715) to the Mountmellick Museum. The Association delighted with the offer, accepted and invited James to come and present the journal in person. Months later the invitation was realised and on the 7th April 2013, nearly 301 years after William Edmundson's death, his 8th great grandson presented the copy of William Edmundson's journal to the Mountmellick Museum. James as he said during the presentation, had been looking at Mountmellick via the internet for many years and it was his wish to visit Mountmellick and Rosenallis ever since he started to metaphorically dig into his family history that culminated, as all good family histories do, by sitting down with his aunt with a sheet of paper and an attentive ear.

An important factor in the Mountmellick Gathering was the involvement of representatives of the Quaker community from several parts of Ireland who had travelled to the gathering. One family, Chapman, donated a copy of a book about 100 years of the Quaker school in Mountmellick to the Mountmellick Development Association.

The attentive ear
As part of the planning of the event, the staff of the Development Association invited James to deliver a lecture/ talk to the community about his findings and experiences in carrying out his family research. The lecture was well attended and informative and got a huge response from those present. Much of the feedback was a result of the James' generous nature and enthusiasm for the subject matter. From a small seed grows a wonderful tree. The Gathering was the seed which the community will nourish and grow into a communal family tree with the many Quaker families that played such a treasured part of the heritage of Mountmellick/ Rosenallis region and County Laois in general.

Mr. James Edmundson's lecture to the Mountmellick community


Gathering 2015
The community has already commenced the planning of the Gathering 2015, as the Edmundson journal is being readied for public display in the Museum. The facebook page is established and 2015 will see James, the Mountmellick / Rosenallis community, the Quaker community and perhaps members of the extended Edmundson family and the other Irish descended Quaker families, in Ireland and abroad, add to our recording,  appreciation and dissemination of our rich and varied Irish heritage.

If any of you have been part of a gathering in Ireland I’d love to hear you views of the event and perhaps if you give us a shout we could rove down to get involved in one of the many remaining events.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

A village gem in rural Ireland

The village of Rosenallis, Co. Laois has a long history which can be experienced within 60 minutes. The name of the village, Rosenallis (Anglicised from the Irish Ros Fhionnghlaise  translates as ‘wood of the clear stream’. The village has a holy well dedicated to St. Brigid located along the main street of the village beside ‘The Ramblers Rest’ public house. The holy well is a spring and the arched roof appears to be constructed since the nineteenth century.


St. Brigid's  Well, 'Main Street', Rosenallis

The Church of Ireland church that stands on the high point of the village dates to the early nineteenth century. If you take the time to go into the graveyard, you will see a range of late eighteenth and nineteenth century headstone, that bear many of the popular names of the town, such as Poole and Shelley. The graveyard was subject to a community clean up project around A.D 2000 and during this project the workers uncovered a sheela na gig and two early medieval/ early christian graveslabs. One of the graveslabs is in the shape of a fish and is the only one of its type in Ireland. The sheela na gig is a commonplace stone sculpture in early medieval churches, usually placed at the door of the church, the sculpture is one of a female with open legs and showing enlarged genitalia. The exact purpose is the subject of academic discussion, but the popular belief is held that the sculpture was to bring people entering the church to remember their worldly sins, thoughts and deeds before entering the church where they would seek forgiveness and reflect on their wrong doings.

Church of Ireland church, Rosenallis

The sheela na gig and the graveslabs are housed in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin for safe keeping. Early monastic settlements, such as the one at Rosenallis, often had round towers within close proximity to the church. It is probable that the present church stands close to the location, if not covering the former medieval church. There are records of a round tower in some of the histories for the region, although some believe this may have been a stump of a windmill rather than an A.D. 1000-1200 round tower. The stump was demolished in the 1830’s and the stone used in the construction of the present church. The Ordnance Survey map indicates a round tower in the front garden of the ‘Green School’ across the road from the church. See if you can see any bumps in the ground that might be the stump.

As you stand at the well, take a look at the building behind. Some parts are recent additions, but the main part of the building dates to the early seventeenth century, as indicated by the inscription over the doorway to A.D 1733. Further up this side of the street, the buildings have been demolished and replaced with modern buildings. The line of single storey cottages on the far side of the road look as if they date to the early nineteenth century and represent farmers houses. The present village has two substantial houses which effectively have their farmyards and outbuildings beside the buildings.

Memorable windows

The seventeenth century is a period that plays an important role in the history of Rosenallis. The seventeenth century is a period characterised by political turbulence and the arrival of new comers to the traditional lands of the old Irish. During the seventeenth century vast amounts of land were confiscated from the native Irish and given to the new arrivals, often soldiers who served the English monarch. In order to value the land and know how much was to be confiscated, William Petty set about mapping the extent of the lands and buildings around the country. The survey is know as the Down Survey. It is this period in Irish history, that we refer to when we say ‘to hell or to Connaught’, meaning native Irish either face death or move to the poorer lands of the western part of the country, thereby making the land available to the new Planters, loyal and well trained soldiers who would take possession of the land and bring English administrative governance and laws to the region. One of these new arrivals was a man named William Edmundson. William Edmundson was born in England, but after seeing the ravages of war, arrived in Ireland. He was to be an instrumental figure in the region, as he was the person that introduced The Society of Friends (commonly know as Quakers’) into Ireland. Edmundson is buried in the small and lovely graveyard located c.1km outside Rosenallis on the Mountmelick Road. Edmundson died in 1712. An active community of Quakers thrived in Mountmellick and established industries, schools, meeting houses in the town. During the famine period of mid nineteenth century, the Quakers were responsible for giving much needed assistance by setting up soup kitchens around Ireland. Indeed the Quakers drew international attention to the inhuman treatment of the majority of the Irish population (rural labourers and small farmers) by the British monarchy click for graveyard information.


Some archaeological work was undertaken in advance of house construction in Rosenallis, but no archaeological material was uncovered. A personal favourite building of mine is the lovely thatched cottage along the road to Tullamore, opposed the water pump on the side of the road (painted blue). This cottage is earthen and a portion of the wall is leaning majestically as if with historical prowess. The cottage would appear to be mid nineteenth century in date. The water pump a reminder of the days before houses had tapped water. If you want a smile, think back to the 1940’s when the Irish Country women’s Association told its members not to marry a man unless he had tapped water in the house !. A brave campaign and one which caused much consternation at the time. But for generations, a woman’s chore was to fetch the water. Farmers feared tapped water, because they believed it would be a way for the local authorities to increase their rates (taxation).

Vernacular cottage, Rosenallis

So take some time, sit at St. Brigid’s well, wave at the passing cars and think how many people sat at this spot over the last 1000 years, some to collect holy water, others to sell their wares in the trading monastic centre, others fleeing from the newly arrived ‘Planters’, some arguing about the tapped water in the houses and electrification and others, like me just waiting for the local bus to my commute to work in Dublin.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

The weather in Ireland for the last week have been really warm. The temperatures hit 30 degrees, which in Ireland means that the tarmacadam on the roads melts and in some places the council starts spreading stone chippings on it to make it safer to drive.

So with all this heat, where better to head off to then some water. Roving through County Carlow, I came across a fantastic spot, a local attraction for swimmers and some amazing ruins. The place is called Millford Bridge (Cloghristick townland).


View of weir at Millford Bridge, Co. Carlow

Millford bridge has been an industrial complex since the early nineteenth century. The Millford Flour Mills were built in the 1790's and by the 1830's the mills had an annual turnover of c.£190,000. An engineer from Manchester, William Fairbairn, built two mill wheels of 18 and 22feet wide respectively. Griffiths Valuation (an accurate record of buildings, owners/ leasors, description of buildings and value of buildings in Ireland) records 'Flourmills, kilns, malthouses, offices and land' in the vicinity of Millford Bridge. At its height, the flour mills could produce nearly 50,000 sacks of flour per annum.

In November 1862, the flour mills accidentally caught fire and were completely destroyed, with the roof and lofts collapsing.

By the 1890's a company Messrs Gordan and Company seeing the potential for the use of the buildings at Millford Bridge for the generation of electricity entered in negotiations with Carlow Town Commission about supplying an electricity supply to Carlow Town from Millford. By July 1891 Millford was generating and supplying an electricity supply to Carlow Town making it the first town in Britain and Ireland to be lit throughout using electricity.


View of Millford building used for the generation of electricity

For anyone interested in field walls and boundaries, take the few minutes to walk to the entrance of the mill and look to the right and see a very fine example of what is termed the 'Carlow fence'. The fence is made of granite and consist of granite uprights with elongated capstone. This type of fence is unique to County Carlow.

The 'Carlow fence' at Millford Bridge


Not a bad bit of history for one small area !
If any of you have roved past any fascinating industrial buildings please let us know where they are, so we can all rove around to see them sometime.


Thursday, June 27, 2013

Love hurts

I love those unusual little pieces of information that you lock away in your head for those special occasions. I remember, many years ago, reading about an 'ogham' stone near Ardmore in County Waterford bearing the inscription amadu, translating as 'the loved one'. I always thought it would be a perfect inscription on the inside of a ring to mark a special occasion (engagement, wedding, eternity).

If you ever rove/ wander through the streets of Dublin, you will naturally walk along the quays of the River Liffey, as its separates the city into the north and south side. One of the landmark features of the Liffey is the pedestrian bridge, know as the ha'penny bridge (one of my recent photos from late May 2013).

Ha'penny bridge over the River Liffey with Liberty Hall to rear in distance.

The ha'penny bridge, a pedestrian bridge, was built in 1816 and was an alternative to the ferries that provided passage across the Liffey. There were turnstiles at either end of the bridge to collect the toll the pedestrians had to pay to cross the river. The bridge is made of cast iron and was cast in Shropshire, England.

The bridge in recent years was conserved and painted from its old silver/grey colour back to the original white colour. If you want to see the old colour and see the bridge and quays in former days, click the link and view the video of Phil Lynott's 'Old Town' (Thin Lizzy). Click for music video

In recent years, loving couples have taken to locking inscribed padlocks onto the railings and arches of the bridge. It's a sign of enduring love, once locked, the keys are thrown into the Liffey. This 'tradition' is causing the city authorities some concerns as the padlocks are both rusting the cast iron and is some cases, being of toughened steel, are risking damage to the softer cast iron. Hence, the authorities, are regularly removing the 'love locks'. Click for radio report

So it's true, love hurts, the unique nearly 200 year old bridge. Is it time for a new tradition... and if you want one that is steeped in history in a unique Irish context, why not inscribe 'amadu' (the loved one) onto a nice finger ring, but make sure you don't throw it in the Liffey.

If any any of you have roved past these collections of 'love locks' around the world, please let us know you thoughts on them. And if you're roving along the ha'penny bridge, let us know what you think about the 'heart breaking' city authorities.


Friday, June 14, 2013

St. Columba and Durrow community gathered

Quite possibly the sunniest day that I've seen this year was Sunday 9th June 2013 and 'a roving' I had to go. I had planned to go to see the only surviving pattern day procession in Ireland and one of the oldest and longest surviving pattern day processions in the country, namely St. Columcille's feast day at Durrow, Co. Offaly (near Tullamore).

Durrow village is located c.1km from the ecclesiastical monastery that was established by Saint Columba (St. Columcille) in A.D. 553. St. Coluncille ran the monastery until 563, when he was exiled to Scotland, having copied a book in a scriptorium. The book he copied was the seventh century illuminated manuscript gospel book, know as the Book of Durrow. This manuscript is held in Trinity College Dublin and is the oldest illuminated insular gospel book in Ireland, and was written at least 100 years before the famous Book of Kells. The Book of Durrow was housed in the monastery of Durrow in 916. The monastery was regarded by contemporary historians as one of the finest universities in Ireland at the time.


                           Drummers, children having made their communion



The pattern day is the date of the death of St. Columcille on 9th June A.D. 597. In Durrow for hundreds of years the day has been celebrated by the community processing to the holy well and the church. This year was no different.

The morning started with the children making their first holy communion. Afterwards a mass was celebrated and following this the community processed along the main road to the holy well at the monastery.


The community members involved in organising the event led the procession carrying a banner of St. Columcille, followed by the band (drums and bag pipes), the children who made their communion and followed by the community. The procession snaked through the demesne landscape to the shady quiet area of the holy well, where after a decette of the rosary, some of the people fill a bottle of water from the holy well.


  The snaking procession towards the holy well




Taking the holy water home

In Irish tradition, the water from the holy well is considered to be able to ward off illness, and it is still a common practise among farmers that they give livestock the water in order to heal sick animals. It is regularly considered as a means of getting rid of warts, amongst other uses and healing associations.

After the visit to the well, many of the people travel the short distance to the late medieval church, within which stands the mid 9th century high cross (taken in for protection and conservation). The church choir sand several church hymns and then on to the community sporting games.

This is a rather rushed account of the day, but what I was struck by were two things. Firstly the calm of the area around the holy well and the deafening silence between prayers, as the people's voices rose in the air. Secondly, how within 40minutes, I was invited to a families house for a cup of tea and a ham sandwich, having been offered a bottle of holy water if I wanted one to take home.

The event is all about community and a nicer communal spirit I've rarely seen.

If I have a date set in my calendar it is to attend the same procession on the 1500 anniversary of the founding of the monastery of Durrow in Co. Offaly in 2053.... well its possible, so I better start drinking that holy water.

If any of you want to see a few photos, take a look at the rural rover facebook page in the 'Durrow pattern day' folder, you might even 'like' it :)

Has anyone else ever roved down to such a pilgrimage/ procession, if so where and when ?

Saturday, June 8, 2013

St. Colmcille in Ireland

Had to put this up for anyone who is hoping to come to Ireland as part of the Gathering.

It's definitely the best invitation that I've seen to come to Ireland.

Click for invitation

I'll be roving over that way tomorrow and I'll let you know how it went.

Friday, June 7, 2013

Family histories and fireside stories

Delving into family history is an amazing experience, facilitated greatly through online resources. Like so many others, I'm often chased dead ends and sometimes just given up in the begrudging acceptance that I just can't go that step back. The fireside stories remembered from childhood, of mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts and grandparents chatting about family stories and explaining the connection between the players in the family sagas are vivid and now those very people, the stories life blood are fading.

I have thankfully taken some occasions to clarify names and occupations of family members. My interest in such family histories springs from my aunts house, when as a teenager, she showed me a framed letter from Muriel McDonagh to her husband, Tomas Mc Donagh shortly before his execution for his part in the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916. I clearly remember the letter had a drawing of a young boy, it was Tomas's young son, Donagh McDonagh, aged 3 years.

That framed picture had hung from the living room wall in a well know hotel in Dublin on Cavendish Row, called Groome's Hotel. Thankfully, through the work of the National Archive, the census records for 1901 and 1911 are available on line. A must source of reference for anyone looking into family histories.

When I scanned through the census records of the Groome family, I could not help but wonder what type of fireside stories were told if all the adults present in the building on census night 1901 were seated together for a chat. The census records show that in the building on the North Wall, were Joseph Groome (enquiry agent) and his wife Annie Groome (restaurant keeper). There two daughters lived with them.

The house contained six boarders on that night, all males, who were from Germany, Britain and Ireland. Apart from the geographical spread, which is natural as Ireland was still under British rule, the religious beliefs of the borders were a complete mix, ranging from Lutherian, Congregationalist. Catholic, Church of England and Methodist. What an amazing fireside conversation if this small band had been discussing religion, not to mention politics.



Ten years later (1911) , the Groome's had moved to Cavendish Row on Parnell Square, where they lived with there five children. Another child, not yet born, would be named Joseph (Joe) Groome and it he who would take over the hotel and hang the framed letter with the drawing of Tomas McDonagh's son on his wall. The letter that I was shown by my aunt, which sparked my interest in Irish history.

All the people in this little story are all gone add the whereabouts of the framed letter are unknown, but its shows the collective memory of a socio cultural artefact.

If anyone has been delving into their family histories, I'd love to hear from you when you wander through your family journey.


Sunday, May 19, 2013

Pigs can fly ! .... 80m in 15 secs

What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon that at the races ?


One event in a rural village in Ireland:

Rosenallis Pig Races 2013.

One MC, face painting and 100's of ice creams


Eager and supportive community and one goal for participants:



And five flying pigs.... watch and enjoy... and maybe next year you'll go roving through the Slieve Blooms mountains and visit this fantastic event, and if you do let us know how you get on.





Thursday, May 16, 2013

The Quare Fella

What better inviting spot to sit down at on a nice May morning in Dublin than beside the locks along the Royal Canal at Binn's Bridge, Drumcondra (along Dorset Street).

Construction of the Royal Canal started in 1790 and twenty years later it linked the River Shannon to Dublin port.


One of Dublin's famous sons is the borstal boy himself, Brendan Behan (playwright, poet and writer). Brendan's brother, Dominic Behan wrote the song 'The Auld Traingle' which was used in Brendan's play The Quare Fella. The song has become almost an anthem with a fantastic version by Luke Kelly. Click for Luke Kelly's Auld Triangle



The triangle refers to the triangle in Mountjoy Prison that was rung by the screws (prison wardens) to wake the inmates and get them to clean out there cells (slopping out - buckets of bodily fluids as there were no toilets in the cell). Ironically, it was only announced recently that soon slopping out will be a thing of the past in Mountjoy Prison. The prison is a few kilometres from Binn's Bridge.

So next time you're roving through Dublin, take a few minutes to sit on Brendan's seat and look at the locks. It's a lovely spot. But don't think you can take a shortcut over the wall behind.... there's a fair drop to the train lines below.


Tuesday, May 14, 2013

win some, loose some !

Sitting at home on a bright but wet May evening and looking back on a days activities, I notice there was a recurring theme to my day... that of 'water'.

Some colleagues were asking me whether I had heard of the theft of a lovely medieval font from a church site in Rathmore, Co. Meath. The beautiful carved stone water font was stolen by an organised gang of thieves. The font stood in the church for hundreds of years and was left unaltered.... respected for successive generations. The font used for many religious ceremonies. Not that this matters any less, but the fact that it was stolen from a national monument.. makes it slightly more annoying. Its impossible to police for this... but in the year of 'the gathering' when we want people to come back and see their heritage... it's particularly disrespectful and mindless to steal an object that so many would like to see. Click for newspaper story

On the same day, I got home and say a lovely piece on the national news about a find in a river. Sitting in the bank of the River Boyne in the town on Drogheda, Co. Louth was discovered a dug out canoe. The boat is probably thousands years of old and the river has kept it hidden from theft and discovery for centuries. The fact that the man who discovered it, is so confident about what it is, is so good. He knows full well that it is a boat, as he found one with his father some 40 odd years before. Click for video of story

So it's a day of water, it's falling from the sky, the stone sculpture that used to hold it for religious ceremonies is gone, but in forming rivers its protected valuable perishable objects of our heritage.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Mills, Monks and Travellers

3 things I enjoy about Mullingar, County Westmeath

1. The name and its pronunciation on the train speakers as you enter the station from either Dublin/ Sligo.

If you're on the line, keep an ear out for it. The name 'An Muileann gCearr' means the left handed mill and refers to the early medieval monastic town, which has now become the most populous town in the Irish midlands.


2. The statues of the two pilgrims located on Austin Friars Street (formerly Bridge Street).

The statue is made of pewter, produced in the local business in Mullingar. The pilgrims are located at the site of the early medieval Augustinian Friary. Archaeological excavations revealed the remains of friars on the site some of whom were buried with the scallop shells that they brought back to Ireland, as emblems of St. James,  from Spain when doing the pilgrimage to the region of Santiago de Compostela.

                                          The Pilgrims statue

3. The homeplace of one of our boxing champions, John Joe Nevin

The London Olympics lifted the Irish spirits with a fantastic performance from the Irish squad of boxers. One of those sports people, was John Joe Nevin, a native of Mullingar and an ambassador for the Travelling community in Ireland.

Take time in Mullingar, enjoy some of the nice coffee shops, look around the town. Just for good measure listen to a nice song while your roving, I suggest the song, 'A pair of brown eyes', written and sung by Shane McGowan of the Pogues. (Click link to u tube for song: Pair of brown eyes ).

If you ever go roving through Mullingar, drop us a line to let us know what three things you liked about the town ?

Monday, April 22, 2013

Name that tune !

After a week of horrific acts, frightening industrial accidents and international sabre rattling, there was a short clip on the news that brought music to the ears.

In essence, a musicologists dream. The only symphony composed in Ireland, written almost two hundred years ago, had portions missing presumed destroyed or lost. Click link for symphony news clip

The beautiful symphony ... was written by .... hmmhmmm ... a Frenchman, but of course we'll claim him as our own. Recently to the joy of the music world, a musicologist discovered the missing sheets of music in the National Libraries Uncatalogued collection. It must have sat there for many years. The joy of finding such a cultural artefact must have been immense, a real claim to fame.

The main Irish news carried the story and informed the viewers that soon the first recital of the complete symphony would be talking place. It was fantastic to see such a good news story, which was culturally educational and showed the value of our cultural institutions which has such gems still to be uncovered.

Lets just hope the Irish government sees the value in adequately funding such institutions.

In that same week, unfortunately another piece of information made the main Irish News, the theft of four rhinoceros heads from National Museum storage facility (which by the way is the size of two football pitches). The thieves, faced the daunting task of tying up the massive security presence at the relatively new national storage facility.... a hmm hmm... one security guard. Then used the excellently concise and detailed cataloguing system to quickly locate the rhinoceros heads and exit stage left. Click link for rhino news clip

Lets hope the lovely music discovered in the library does not get catalogued on such a good system as the one used by the National Museum.

Dare I guess what music the security guard was listening to in the National Museum at the time.... mission impossible !


Sunday, February 10, 2013

The Gathering of Stones

An event for all diaries

Be part of 

'The Gathering of Stones'

June 20-23
Lough Boora Parklands, Co. Offaly

Lough Boora is a fantastic and beautiful spot, boasting the location of a Mesolithic settlement and amazing sculptures set in a beautiful location.

You can bring along your own stone and have it incorporated into the sculpture.



All four provinces in Ireland will be represented in the sculpture by using a particular stone type and style from each province.


Thursday, February 7, 2013

Finding your family tree

2013 in Ireland is a whirlwind of social community events, labelled 'The Gathering'. The 'reverse genealogy' concept means contacting members of your familial / communal genealogical tree and inviting them to visit Ireland this year. Hundreds of events are planned around the country.

For those of you, who weren't in Ireland for the start of the millennium (2000), you might not know that the state sponsored the planting of trees around the country, with each family allocated a 'family tree' to celebrate the occasion (The People's Millennium Forest). I loved the idea and still do, native tree, recreational value, CO2 friendly measure, forestry employment, feel good factor.



The certificate, received through the post, had an identifying tree number and gave the location of the tree in the forestry plantation in the county.

So the rural rover is setting himself a mission for the summer months.... he's going to find his family tree. No libraries, newspapers or census data... just me, eyes, certificate number and fresh air... and knowing my luck lots of rain !.

Has anyone ever visited their family tree ?



P.S.
What's 'the gathering' all about -  Click link



Tuesday, February 5, 2013

The winds of change !

Early February and 'the days are getting longer'. I find myself galloping around the place finding things to put in different places - spring cleaning !.

I often hear people saying that 'the days are getting longer'. True, one should say 'there are more hours of daylight' as the day itself is still 24 hour. But maybe it's just an Irishism.

I was taught in school and brought up to believe that Spring starts on 1st February and runs until the end of April. Many of my friends and colleagues from other parts of Europe and farther afield consider that Spring starts at the end of March !. For me, it's Spring on 1st February, you can feel it in the air.

In Ireland the 1st February is St. Brigids day, the day for making your Brigid's cross and placing it in the kitchen to ward off bad luck and prevent fires. St. Brigid is associated with the town of Kildare. Her feast day intentionally coincides with the pre-Christian (or pagan) date of the first day of Spring in Ireland. St. Brigid brought her own winds of change to Kildare when in the fifth century A.D. she converted the people of Kildare to the Christian faith and established a monastery with a highly acclaimed scriptorium. Her feast day effectively re-used the pre-Christian first day of Spring.

So if you're wondering why you're rushing around cleaning the house, you are in fact doing your spring clean, which is natural, as it's Spring... if it was good enough for the Celts then its good enough for me.

If you should find yourself in Kildare, take some time out from rushing, visit the fantastic round tower in the town and go up to the summit (great views), do some shopping in the Kildare Village Outlet Centre and make sure to drop in to the Curragh race course. And if you are down that way, drop us a line.

Kildare round tower

Kildare round tower - detail of doorway

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Ireland is synonymous with cattle

A stereotypical image of Ireland is cattle grazing in a field. The size of field reflects the part of the country you're in at the time, with small stonewalled fields commonly in the west and seemingly unbounded fields in the east and south. I think anyone living in or visiting Ireland would have taken a few of these snaps.
Inisheer, Galway

The picture postcard image, while accurately reflecting the importance of cattle in Ireland from the earliest times, begs the question, just how many cattle reside in Ireland ?

I've occasionally told people, with some degree of pride, that Ireland has more cattle on the island than people. I've seen statistics for the numbers over the years, but two articles in a national newspaper (The Irish Times) caught my eye recently.

In 2010, there were 6.6 million cattle in the Republic of Ireland and just under 1 million of these (15 percent) lived in county Cork. click for cattle numbers

Between 1991 and 2010, the number of farms in the Republic of Ireland decreased by 18%, while the farm size increased. In going forward, perhaps we're going back to the modern equivalent of landlord days in Ireland.

The county with the highest number of farms is Cork and not surprisingly, we learn that one quarter of the high increase in sales of tractors in Ireland in 2012 were bought by farmers in Cork, Galway and Wexford. click for tractor sales

So if you're roving through rural Ireland and you want to test out whether 'cow tipping' is a urban myth... you know where to head to for a plentiful supply of unwilling subjects.

And if you're going that way, drop us a line.